1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a corn sterilizing machine.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
When a farmer produces seed corn, it is usually obtained by hybridization of two varieties.
The rows of one variety are alternated with those of another variety which are to fertilize the first variety.
Therefore, it is essential to remove the male elements from the variety which is to be fertilized by the second variety. The male elements are situated in the upper part of the seedling and should be removed when they appear.
Until now, this "castration" has been performed manually. Recently, there has been use of machines comprising rotary knives with vertical axes which cut off the upper part of the plant carrying the male elements and which, therefore, work like a lawnmower.
Since the panicle that has the elements to be removed is usually interwoven with the upper leaves of the seedling, the current machines, because of the way they work, cut off an important part of the greenery, which greatly harms later development of the corn seedling.